Planoobaph co



l. M. BREITENBACH.

STRETCHER SUPPORT.

APPLlcATxoN FILED vAuG.23. lala.

'1 ,3 1 2, 5 1 6 Pafentd Aug. 12, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

THB COLUMBIA PLANDanAPH co.. wASHlNc-row, D'. c.

J. M. BREITENBACH. STRETCHEH SUPPORT. APLICATION FILED Aue.23. 191s.

1,312,516. PamedAug. 12,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- JULI'US M. BREITENBACH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STRETCI-IER-SUPPORT.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

Application led August 23, 1918. Serial No. 251,188.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JULIUs M. BREITEN- BACH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of `New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stretcher- Supports, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention is a stretcher support, and important objects of the invention are to facilitate the loading and unloading of wounded lying upon stretchers; to adapt the device for the support of standard army stretchers; to provide an effective elastieally yieldable support for the stretchers in order to compensate as far as possible for jolting movements of the truck; to provide for the convenient transportation of a relatively large number of wounded soldiers who can sit up and do not require stretchers; and to embody the invention in the form of an attachable super-structure capable of being readily set up upon the platform of any platform type of truck, and to enable the convenient removal and ready collapse of the structure into small compass for transportation and storage.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it of course being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details may be made, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit -or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings,

Figure 1i is a perspective view of a truck equipped with the structure of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. Il.V

Fig. 3 is a side elevationof Fig. 2, parts of one of the rails being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a plan section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. 4

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail plan view of one end of the seat.

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of Fig. 5.

In the accompanying drawings l designates the platform of any desired type of platform truck, which may be self propelled, as for instance an electric truck, but it will or course: he understand that type et truck and any form of power may be employed, as the present invention does not reside in the truck per se.

As hereinbefore indicated, the present invention is embodied in the form of a superstructure and includes four corner posts or uprights, two corner posts, designated 2 being located at the front of the truck and two corner posts designated 3 being located at the rear of the truck. These posts are duplicates and are in the form of cylindrical metallic tubes or pipes of suitable dimensions -according to the size of the truck. Each post or upright is provided at its lower end with an elbow 4 having its horizontal member directed inwardly with respect to the truck and connected to a short horizontal pipe section 5, which in turn is provided at its inner end with a downwardly directed elbow 6 extending downwardly through asuitable opening or socket 6 in the adjacent corner section of the platform of the truck. By means of the elbows 4 and `6 and the short length of pipe 5, the corner posts may be spaced a greater distance than if they extended directly upward from the corners of the platform. By this arrangement the maximum width between corner posts is obtained. Midway between each front post 2 is a front intermediate post 7, and intermediate the rear post 3 is an intermediate rear post 8. Each of the intermediate front and rear posts 7 and 8` has its lower end fitted into a suitable socket or opening in the platform of the truck, and has a suitably snug engagement therewith so as to stand alone when fitted in place. Each intermediate post is provided at its upper end with a T coupling 9, and between each corner 'post and each intermediate post there is a top cross-bar 10, the inner end of which is fitted to the adjacent end of the T coupling 9. The outer, end of each top cross bar 10 is connected to the adjacent corner post by a suitable elbow 11. Across the top of the structure extend diagonal braces l2. Each brace is preferably a wire rope having its ends suitably connected to the diagonally opposite upper corners of the front and rear frames, and including a turnbuckle 12', whereby the top portions of the front and rear frames may be drawn together s-o as to tighten the frame and maintain it in a rigid condition as will hereinafter appear.

As illustrated in the present drawings, the device is adapted. rer the' sappen ef four stretchers, and as the stretcher suppprts are duplicates in construction, a description of one of them is deemed suliicient. Each stretcher support includes a pair of longitudinally disposed rails 13 extending the entire length of the device in the same hori- Zontal plane and inclined downwardly*7 from the front to the rear of the frame. s best illustrated in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the'rail 13 is in the form of a channel bar having at its lower side inwardly directed flanges 141 terminating in upwardly directed flanges 15, which flanges, together with the side walls of the rail define guideways for a purpose as will be hereinafter described. Each end of each rail is supported in a hanger made up of comple-` mentary bracket members 16 and 17 which jointly embrace the rail and are provided with upstanding shank portions 18 and 19 which lie against one another and are located at the inner side of the adjacent post or upright, to which the hanger is pivotally connected by means of a suitable fastening, as for instance a bolt 20 extending through the post and the shanks and provided with a nut 21. The hangers at the rear of the device are provided with an additional member 22 embracing the inember 16 and provided with an upper shank 'portion 23, pierced by the bolt 20, and also provided on its lower arm or member with a hook 2l disposed beneath and opposite the middle of the rail. Each hanger is pivoted to its post in order that it may be swung or tilted outwardly to enable the introduction of the adjacent end of the rail 13, after which the hanger is moved inwardly into its normal upright position. It is preferred to have the bolt 2O hold the hanger with a considerable degree of rigidity or stiffness, such as to require the blows of a hammer or the like to move the hanger outwardly and thereafter to drive the hanger back upon the adjacent end of the rail 13 and into its normal upright position alongside of the post or upright. To prevent the end of the rail 33 from being driven through the hanger, the latter is provided with a substantially U-shaped clip 25 of bendable sheet metal, the arms of the clip being provided with terminal hooks 26 which embrace theinner edges of the hanger members 16 and 17, as best shown in Fig. l of the drawings, whereby the intermediate or head portion oi? the clip closes the outer end of the hanger and constitutes the stop against which the end of the rail engages. A suitable spring suspension device 27 hangs from the hook 24 of each rear hanger, and this suspension is provided at its lower end with a suitable hook 28. A duplicate suspension and hook 2 9 and 30 are mounted to travel upon each rail, in the manner best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The upper end ofthe spring suspension V29is engaged with the hook 31 on the lower end oi a headed bolt or shank 32 swiveled in a crosshead 33, which is pro-V vided at each end with a pair of rollers 34: trayeling on the track portions 14 of the rai As best indicated in Fig. 3, it will be noted that the rail 13 inclines downwardly and rearwardly, one purpose of which is to cause the spring suspension 29 to gravitate to the rear end of the device in order that.it may always be in position for engagement with the handles of the stretcher when loading a stretcher upon the device.

In using `the device for stretcher cases, the suspension members 29 being at the lower ends of the rails, and therefore at the rear of the device, the stretcher bearers at the head of the stretcher engage the handle bars with the hooks 30, and then the stretcher bearers at the foot of the stretcher push the stretcher forwardly, such movement being permitted by reason oit' the slidable mounting of the suspension member 29 in the rails 13. When the stretcher has reached its proper position, the hooks 28 ot' the fixed rear suspension devices 27 are engaged with the rear handle bars of the stretcher, and the latter is then supported in place. The stretcher cannot become endwise displaced for the reason that the rear suspension devices 27 are secured to the liXed hooks 2l and the handle bars are tapered and wedge in the hooks. Furthermore the suspension members 29 cannot travel out of the upper and forward ends oi' the rails 13 because of the presence of the clips 25. To remove a stretcher, the hooks 28 are disengaged from the stretcher handles and the stretcher is then drawn rearwardly, this movement being permitted by reason of the traveling or slidable mountings of the suspension member 29. When the suspension members 29 reach the rear end of the device, the handle bars at the front of the stretcher are grasped and withdrawn endwise from the hooks 30, or the hooks 30V may be disengaged from the handle bars as desired.

It will here be explained that the stretch- Y ers per se form no part of this invention, and may be of any desired type so long as they are provided with terminal handle bars capable oi'V being engaged by the hooks of the suspension members.

'As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the device is arranged for four stretchers, but a greater or less numbercould be employed according to the size of the device. Y

For transporting wounded who are able to sit up, I have equipped the device with a double seat 35 which normallyV rests upon a@ platform 1 of. asu-11.01; and is provided at each end with a notch or seat 36 to receive the adjacent intermediate posts, as plainly indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, whereby the seat is held in place. The seat is provided at each end, and also at its iniddle, if desired, with foldable legs 37, which when swung down into supporting position,

as indicated in Fig. 6, will support the seat at the desired elevation. The width of the seat with respect to the distance between the opposite corner posts 3 is such that a number of persons may be accommodated at opposite sides of the seat, the lowermost rails 13 supported by the intermediate posts 7 and 8 forming a suitable back. It will of course be understood that the stretchers are not in place when the seat is in use, and when the stretchers are in place the seat is lowered to the position shown in Fig. l and therefore does not interfere with the stretchers. In

the embodiment of the device as illustrated for four stretchers, the length is such that the seat or bench will accommodate ten persons, live at each side of the seat.

When the stretchers are not in place, the truck may be employed for transportation purposes generally, and the entire framework may be conveniently removed in order to afford a truck with an unobstructed platform or for the purpose of collapsing the frame for convenience in transportation and storage.

What I claim is:

l. A stretcher support comprising a frame including guideways, individual stretcher suspension devices fixed with respect to the guideways, and other individual stretcher suspension devices mounted to travel upon the guideways, the suspension devices of one guideway being independent of the suspension devices of each other guideway.

2. A stretcher support comprising uprights, rails upon the uprights, each rail being hollow and provided with a longitudinal slot in the bottom thereof and constituting a guideway, stretcher suspension devices hung from corresponding ends of the rails; and other stretcher suspension devices having wheeled members within the respective rails and traveling upon the guideway portions thereof.

3. A stretcher support comprisinga frame including guideways, individual stretcher suspension devices iiXed with respect to the guideways, and other individual stretcher suspension devices mounted to travel upon the guideways, each suspension member including a spring coil provided at its lower end with a hook for engagement with a stretcher handle bar, and the suspension devices of one guideway being independent of the suspension devices of each other guideway.

4. A stretcher support comprising uprights, hangers carried upon the uprights and mounted for movement upon horizontal axes, rails having their ends supported in the hangers, and stretcher suspension devices carried by the rails.

5. A stretcher support comprising uprights, hangers upon the uprights, rails supported by the hangers, stretcher suspension devices carried by the rails, and a tie device connecting the front and rear posts and including a turnbuckle.

6. A stretcher support comprising uprights, hangers upon the uprights, rails supported by the hangers7 a set of stretcher suspension devices carried by one set of hangers, and another set of stretcher suspension devices mounted to travel upon the rails.

7. A stretcher support comprising front and rear uprights, a pair of rails supported by the uprights at an angle thereto other than a right angle, a set of stretcher suspension devices at the lower" ends of the rails, and another set of stretcher suspension devices mounted to travel upon the rails and capable of graviting to the lower ends thereof.

8. The combination with a truck having a platform, of corner uprights and front and rear intermediate uprights, front and rear crossbars connecting respective front and rear uprights, each corner upright being provided with an inwardly directed oset lower portion engaged with the platform, pairs of rails extending between front and and rear uprights, fixed stretcher suspension devices at the rear ends of the rails, other stretcher suspension devices mounted to travel upon the rails, and diagonal ties connecting the tops of the corner uprights and includingturnbuckles.

9. The combination with a wheeled truck, of corner and intermediate uprights rising therefrom, rails connecting front and rear uprights, stretcher suspension devices carried by the rails, and a seat supported upon the platform and provided at opposite ends with recesses receiving the respective front and rear intermediate uprights, said seat being provided with collapsible legs, whereby the seat may rest in a lowered inoperative position on the platform and also be raised to an operative position with its legs resting upon the platform.

JULIUS M. BREITENBACl-l.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

